Lee H, et al. Korean J Physiol Pharmacol. 2017 Jul;21(4):361-370. https://doi.org/10.4196/kjpp.2017.21.4.361

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The nano-market has grown rapidly over the past decades and a wide variety of products are now being manufactured, including those for biomedical applications. Despite the widespread use of nanomaterials in various industries, safety and health effects on humans are still controversial, and testing methods for nanotoxicity have not yet been clearly established. Nanomaterials have been reported to interfere with conventional cytotoxicity tests due to their unique properties, such as light absorption or light scattering. In this regard, the colony-forming efficacy (CFE) assay has been suggested as a suitable test method for testing some nanomaterials without these color-interferences. In this study, we selected two types of GNPs (Graphene nanoplatelets) as test nanomaterials and evaluated CFE assay to assess the cytotoxicity of GNPs. Moreover, for further investigation, including expansion into other cell types, GNPs were evaluated by the conventional cytotoxicity tests including the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium (MTS), Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), and Neutral red uptake (NRU) assay using MDCK, A549 and HepG2 cells. The results of CFE assay suggest that this test method for three cell lines can be applied for GNPs. In addition, the CFE assay was able to evaluate cytotoxicity regardless more accurately of color interference caused by residual nanomaterials.

The genus Valeriana has been widely used in popular medicine for centuries, to treat sleep disorders, anxiety, epilepsy and insomnia. Recent studies have focused on the novel pharmacological effects of Valeriana fauriei Briq. (VF) species. Previous studies have attempted to determine the pharmacological functions of Valeriana in various human diseases, particularly with regards to its neuroprotective effects, and its ability to reduce pain and stress. The present study constructed an animal model of fibromyalgia (FM), which was induced by intermittent cold stress with slight modification. Subsequently, the study aimed to determine whether VF exerts antinociceptive effects on the FM‑like model following oral administration of VF extracts. The effects of VF extracts on the FM model were investigated by analyzing behavioral activity, including pain, and detecting protein expression. In the behavioral analysis, the results of a nociception assay indicated that the pain threshold was significantly decreased in the FM group. Subsequently, western blotting and immunohistochemical analyses of the hippocampus demonstrated that the protein expression levels of brain‑derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and phosphorylated‑cAMP response element‑binding protein were downregulated in the FM group. Conversely, VF restored these levels. These results suggested that the effects of VF extract on a model of FM may be associated with its modulatory effects on the BDNF signaling pathway in the hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex. In conclusion, the mechanism underlying the protective effects of VF as a therapeutic agent against FM may involve the BDNF signaling pathway.

Chlorobutanol (CB) is used as a preservative in cosmetics and has antibacterial activity. This study investigated the single- and repeated-dose 28-day oral toxicity of a CB solvent in Sprague Dawley (SD) rats. For the single-dose oral toxicity study, a dose of 62.5, 125, or 250 mg per kg of body weight (mg/kg b.w.) of CB was given once orally via gavage. For the repeated-dose 28-day toxicity study, the high dose was set as 100 mg/kg b.w./day, and the middle, middle-low, and low doses were set to 50, 25, and 12.5 mg/kg b.w./day, respectively. Body weight was not significantly changed in the repeated-dose toxicity study. Relative liver and kidney weights were significantly increased in both sexes of the 100 mg/kg b.w./day treatment group. However, there were histopathological changes in liver and kidney for females and males, respectively. These data suggested that the approximate lethal dose (ALD) of CB was over 250 mg/kg b.w./day in the single-dose study, and the no adverse effect level (NOAEL) for CB was over 50 and 12.5 mg/kg b.w./day for female and male rats in the repeated-dose toxicity study.